Suyal hits Assam for a six as hosts collect five

Left-arm seamer Pawan Suyal returned with a ten-wicket haul, including a hat-trick, to guide Delhi to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over Assam in New Delhi on Saturday.

Following his four-wicket haul in the second innings, Assam could post just a 59-run target, which Delhi achieved with seven wickets to spare. This is Delhi's first outright win of the season and now they have 13 points from its five matches.

Opener Dheeraj Jadhav and Gokul Sharma played well and kept Delhi attack at bay in the morning. Jadhav, who was batting on 69, went on to complete his century, and Gokul got his half-century. But once Delhi took the new ball, Assam caved in without much resistance.

Suyal drew the first blood, getting Jadhav caught at gully by Unkmut Chand for 122. Sumit Narwal struck soon after to remove Gokul for 56. Both Suyal and Narwal struck again to reduce Assam to 277 for seven at lunch.

It took Delhi just 34 minutes after lunch to polish off the tail and restrict Assam to 291, leaving themselves just 59 runs to get for victory.

Delhi looked well on course to pocket a bonus point. That was, however, not to be as they lost opener Shikhar Dhawan early on. Aditya Jain (5) and Punit Bisht (7) too fell quickly. However Unmukt Chand’s unbeaten 37, ensured Delhi reached home. "I am very happy with the way we bowled today. Both Suyal and Narwal bowled in the right areas," said Delhi coach Manoj Prabhkar after the match.

Meanwhile, Delhi have made two changes to their 15-member squad for their next match against Railways, starting from Wednesday. Medium pacer Parvinder Awana makes way for Kapil Yadav, while batsmen Ankur Julka was dropped for experienced Rajat Bhatia.